A Framework for Teaching West African Musics in Schools and Colleges

Existing classifications of West African musics seem to have a limited applicability as models for music education in schools and colleges. Hence, a more comprehensive classification, highlighting a range of syncretic forms, is merged with a structure in Ghanaian drum ensembles to yield a sequential, two dimensional, model. It is then argued that the model can be used as a framework for teaching West African musics in primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions. A more general discussion is followed by an integrated arts application; finally, a musical perspective, including compositions by the present writer, is presented.